


Scavenger Hunt

by thatwriterlady



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Magic, Chaos, College Student Castiel, College Student Charlie, College Student Gabriel (Supernatural), Fear, Halloween, M/M, Prompt Fic, Witches, scavenger hunt, spells
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-30
Updated: 2017-10-30
Packaged: 2019-01-26 11:10:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12556136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatwriterlady/pseuds/thatwriterlady
Summary: Cas is taking part in the scavenger hunt his brother's fraternity is hosting.  It's supposed to be a night of fun with his friends where they hunt for ridiculous items and party the night away.  Fighting for his life and seeking out the help of a witch was not supposed to be a part of any of this.





	Scavenger Hunt

**Author's Note:**

> Ok! Here we go folks, my submission for the Halloween challenge this year! I'm excited about this one. I had a blast writing it, and I really, really hope you all like it. My amazing editor **monijune** says it's a roller coaster ride, but in the best way possible, and while I did struggle with it, I got some much needed advice on what needed to be changed from my dear friend **LadyPoly** who read the first draft, told me what needed work, and then read over the revised draft before I sent it to monijune. Thank you so much ladies for your advice and guidance with this story. I hope everyone enjoys this one.

 

 

**_The Witch’s Curse~_ **

****

“What is this?”  Cas picked up one of the invitations off the kitchen table and read it.

 

“You know how my frat hosts a Halloween party every year?  Well, this year they decided to make it a scavenger hunt.  It’s my job to find the items everyone is going to be looking for, and delivering the invitations.”  Gabe was at the stove flipping one of the grilled cheese sandwiches he was making them for lunch, but he looked back to see his brother reaching for the list of items.

 

“Is it only for the fraternity or is this one of their bashes that everyone can go to?”

 

“Nah, they opened it up last year and this year to anyone.  I didn’t have much to do with last year’s, but this year they made me one of the coordinators.  I have most of the stuff on the list, I just have to hide it around the city.”

 

Cas looked up from the list at him.  “You have a witch’s hand?  And a skull?”

 

“Well…yes.  I may or may not have borrowed a few pieces from the museum.”  Gabe smiled sheepishly at his brother’s horrified look.

 

“Gabe!  That’s museum property!  You can’t do that!”

 

“It’s all stuff they haven’t had on display in, like, 50 years.  No one’s going to miss anything.  Most of the items are junk from thrift stores and antique shops.  All I took from the museum were some finger bones, a couple of Native American artifacts, and a goblet.  The rest came from the stores, or the basement of the university.”  Gabe shoved a plate with two sandwiches at him, deliberately avoiding the scathing look his younger brother was giving him.

 

“Gabe, you could lose your job at the museum!  Or your scholarship here!  _Or_ …”  Cas took the plate and practically dropped it on the table, too focused was he on chastising his brother.  “You could get kicked out of the fraternity!  Or all of the above!”

 

“But I won’t, unless righteous little brothers go tattling on me.” 

 

Cas let out an exasperated groan and rolled his eyes.  “I won’t tattle.  I’ve never tattled on you, but don’t you _dare_ drag me down with you if you get caught.  You hear me?”

 

Gabe nodded.  “Don’t worry, I won’t incriminate the future lawyer.  You might have a chance at changing this country when you run for the presidency.  I would never tarnish your record.”  There was a strong hint of sarcasm in his tone, but he knew Cas wouldn’t betray him.  They were too close for that.

 

“I’m not running for president.” Cas sighed and rolled his eyes again.  He sat down and pulled his plate closer.  Gabe joined him at the table with his own food.

 

“Yes, you will.  And you’ll be the first gay president.  You’ll be magnificent, and everyone will love you.”

 

Cas hid his smirk behind a bite of his grilled cheese.  His brother had so much faith that he would one day be president.  It almost made him want to run.

 

“So tell me more about this scavenger hunt.”

 

“Nuh uh, if I tell you about it you’ll have an unfair advantage over anyone else that’s participating.  Then if your team wins, everyone will accuse me of playing favorites,” Gabe argued as he popped the last bite of his first sandwich in his mouth.  They were sitting in the fraternity kitchen, which was pretty empty.  Most of the guys were in class.  Gabe, being nearly finished, only had one class on Thursdays, and Cas had all of his finished by 11 on that day, so he’d stopped by to visit.  He’d also stopped by to see what was up about the Halloween party.

 

“What kind of stuff did you get at the thrift stores?”

 

“I had to hunt around a bit, went to the Salvation Army, Goodwill, and a couple of smaller ones, but I picked up some pretty neat stuff.  Check this out, hang on, I’ll be right back.”

 

Gabe got up and left the room, taking his second sandwich with him.  Cas finished his own and grabbed both plates to wash them while he waited for his brother to get back.  He had just dried them and put them back in the cabinet when Gabe walked in with a box.  He set it on the table.

 

“What’s this?”

 

“It’s some of the stuff for the hunt.  Not all of it, but a few items.”  Gabe opened the box and pulled out a piece of silk.

 

“Is this a scarf or part of Japanese traditional clothing?  I forget what it’s called,”  Cas asked.

 

“No, it’s part of a sari.  Here’s the rest of it.”  Gabe pulled more silken fabric out of the box, laying it out on the table.  It was beautiful.

 

“This is an item to find?” 

 

“Yep.  Tom and Javier are writing up the clues. I was just in charge of buying all the stuff and hiding it.  Greg, Paul, Connor, and E.J. are helping me with that so it goes faster.  Look at this other stuff I got.”  Gabe pulled a tea cup out of the box, an amulet, a pair of white, elbow-length ladies gloves that Cas was pretty sure had come right out of the 1920’s, an ancient alarm clock, and a ceramic statue that was probably the creepiest thing he’d ever seen in his life.  It looked like some sort of beast eating two small children.  Lastly, he pulled a porcelain doll out.  It was the old fashioned kind that children in the 1800s would have played with.

 

“I bet this stuff is worth a small fortune.  You could sell it on eBay later if it’s not ruined after this hunt.  Or…”  Cas turned the doll over in his hands, looking for a manufacturer’s stamp.  “You could donate this to the museum.  Here’s the stamp, and I’m pretty sure this one was made at least 100 years ago.”

 

Gabe took the doll to investigate the stamp.  “I think you’re right.  I’ll put this one aside then.  I have another doll, looks older but it’s not nearly _as_ old.  I’ll use that one instead.  Not sure if I want to donate this or sell it.  I think maybe I’ll get it appraised first.”  He tucked it back into the box carefully, wrapping it in the sari for added protection.

 

“Where did you get this?  It looks old.”  Cas picked up the amulet, feeling a strange chill when his fingers touched the cold metal.  The stone looked real and the metal, he was fairly certain, was real silver.

 

“I picked that up at the Salvation Army on Calvary Road.  They had containers full of junk jewelry and I weeded through all of it.  This was the nicest piece.  I dunno, it just…”  Gabe shrugged.  “It felt like the right one to use for the hunt.  It’s just gaudy enough and big enough to spot if we hang it from a headstone, or a tree or something.  It would be easier to spot than other pieces.  All the other ones had really small pendants.  Those would be impossible to spot.”

 

“Then you picked a good one.  If this one’s as old as I think it is, you could possibly donate this one too,”  Cas said.  His brother nodded in agreement.

 

“You’re right.  Eh, I’ll get it appraised too, see what the museum says.”  Gabe put everything back in the box and closed it.  “I wish I could ask you to help me hide stuff.  It would make it all go by so much faster.”

 

“Well, I want to take part, so not happening.”  Cas chuckled.

 

“Want that gift card, eh?”  Gabe teased.

 

“What gift card?”  Cas asked.

 

“The guys decided that there would be a prize this year.  It’s going to be a gift card that the team will split.  I can’t say how much it is, but it’s pretty sweet.”  Gabe began gathering up the invitations.  “Could you stick these in the envelopes and drop them at the campus mail room?  I want to make sure people get notice at least two weeks before the party, so we get enough people coming.

 

“Sure.  Do you have the stamps?”

 

Gabe handed over a roll of stamps.  “Just give me back what’s left.”

 

“Sure.”

 

“You know, you should have just joined, for everything you do to help me out,”  Gabe said, smiling at his brother.  Cas snorted as he collected the envelopes, invitations, and stamps, stuffing them all in his messenger bag.

 

“I’d rather the gates of hell open up and swallow me whole.  Your frat brothers barely tolerate me, and only because I’m related to you.  I hear them whispering when you’re not around, or when they think I’m not listening.  It’s 2017, and they still can’t see me as anything except a prissy faggot.  That’s not the kind of ‘brotherhood’ I wanted to try and pledge into.  Besides, they would have hazed me like crazy just for the humiliation, and then told me I didn’t get in.  Having an openly gay man in your fraternity would tarnish their image.”  He slung the bag up on his shoulder.  His brother looked so upset by his words, and he didn’t want to leave things like that.  He placed a hand on Gabe’s shoulder and squeezed.

 

“Hey, you didn’t know that when you pledged, and I don’t blame you in the slightest.  I’m not the kind of person that would have asked you to leave just because I was offended.  They offered you things you needed, and it will pad your resume later, so it’s beneficial to you.  It’s not, however, beneficial to me, and I’m ok with that.  I have enough clubs and activities that I’ve taken part in that I didn’t need to add a fraternity as well.  We’re both going to have our dream jobs and be so successful that all of the losers that call me a fairy and a faggot will just be a distant memory one day.”

 

Gabe stood up straighter and placed his hand over his brother’s, squeezing his hand back.  “Darn right.  You really should run for president.  You’d make a fantastic leader, and guys like them would have no choice but to listen and respect you.”

 

“That’s not a reason to respect me.  There’s no saying they’d have any respect for me at all.”  Cas pointed out.  Gabe grinned.

 

“Yeah, but you’d sure as hell get the final ‘fuck you’ in that scenario.”

 

Cas laughed.  Yeah, he was right about that.

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The frat house was crowded.  There was barely any elbow room, as Cas made his way towards the kitchen.  Apparently the invitations had reached far and wide across campus because this was the biggest turnout yet that he’d seen for one of these parties.  Gabe had promised beer, and hell if he didn’t need one.

 

“Cas!”

 

He barely heard his name being called over the horrible house music that was playing and it took a moment of searching through all of the various costumed figures before he spotted the suit of armor heading his way.

 

“Charlie!  I almost didn’t even recognize you with the wig!  Who are you supposed to be?”  he asked his friend.

 

“I’m Brienne of Tarth!  I know, I’m too short to be her, and my hair is the wrong color, so I got the wig.”  She touched the short blonde wig she was wearing.  “I paid a lot for this.” 

 

“It’s a fantastic costume.  I was just thrown because you’re so much tinier than Brienne.  I thought if you were going for a Game of Thrones character, you’d pick like, Sansa, or Arya Stark,” he said.

 

“Yeah, but that’s what people would expect of me.  I dressed as my favorite character.”  She poked the drawn-on scar on his forehead.  “And I happen to know that Harry Potter is _not_ your favorite character.  Hermione is.”

 

“I was not dressing up as Hermione,”  Cas scoffed.  “At a frat party?  They’d never let me live it down!”

 

“You have a point,” she conceded.  She took a step back to appraise his costume.  “This is really accurate.”

 

“I found the scarf at Goodwill, and the glasses I grabbed at Hot Topic.  I used some coupons to get his cloak too, and the wand.  My sister bought me the tie.”  He was rather proud of his costume. 

 

“It looks really good.”  She nudged his arm playfully.  “Hoping you’ll find your Ron here?”

 

He laughed and took a look around.  “God no.  The last thing I want is a frat boy.”

 

“Hey, fuck you.”  An enormous guy dressed unironically as a football player from their school’s team glared at them as he walked past.  Cas and Charlie looked at one another before bursting out laughing.

 

“Well then, how does a beer sound?” she asked.

 

“It sounds like exactly what I need.” he replied.

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

There was a keg stand going on in the kitchen so they grabbed their cups and headed back to the living room.  They were both getting overheated in their costumes, but it was interesting seeing everything the fraternity had put together.  There was bobbing for apples, a game of “What’s in the box,” and even a Ouija board that some people were sitting around, laughing as they asked the stupidest of questions.  A lot of people were dancing, and as they moved through the living room into the dining room, they encountered a pin the tail on the werewolf game.  It was simultaneously childish and hilarious, and Cas took his own turn.  Then Charlie took a turn.  After a couple of beers and a few more games, someone turned off the music and blew an air horn to get everyone’s attention.  They wove through the crowd that was starting to head outside, meeting up with another of Cas’ friends, Meg.

 

“That’s a really accurate costume.”  He teased her as they came to stand beside her.  She simply flipped them both off. 

 

“I make an adorable demon.”  She cocked a hip out, bumping Cas who laughed.  Meg loved to dress sexy, and tonight she was wearing red baby doll lingerie with horns and a tail attached.  Her red heels made her almost as tall as Cas.  He eyed the shoes, wondering how she could possibly walk in them.  When he looked over at Charlie to see what she thought of them, he found his friend hungrily staring at Meg.  He snorted and rolled his eyes.  Meg didn’t swing Charlie’s way, but that didn’t stop her from staring.

 

People were crowding on the front lawn, facing the steps that led up to a concrete patio overlooking the enormous front yard.  Gabe was working towards his doctorate in history and was in his sixth year, and he’d pledged to this house his freshman year.  He’d tried to get Cas to join too, but fraternities were just not his thing.  There was still a lot of stigma and ridicule in them (at least at this university) towards gay people, and he refused to voluntarily submit himself to being bullied.  Besides, he was fairly certain he’d been right when he told his brother they’d have just hazed him and then rejected him if he had tried to get in.  He had too much pride to submit himself to that kind of humiliation.  Even now he could see a few of the more dickhead brothers watching him, not even hiding the fact that they were talking about him.  Assholes.  Good thing he didn’t care about their tiny minds.  He didn’t come to these parties for them.  He came to have fun, unwind, and enjoy a night with his friends, which was exactly what he was doing.  He had a pleasant buzz going from the beer he’d been drinking, and he wasn’t going to let them ruin it. 

 

Gabe was announcing the scavenger hunt, grinning wide at all the people cheering.  Cas looked at his friends.

 

“You’ll be on my team, right?  Teams of four to six people.  We need a couple more to join our group.”

 

“Of course we’ll be on your team.  Like I’d even think of hunting with these fraternity losers,”  Meg said loud enough for the guys nearby that were ogling her to hear.  An arm slung around Cas’ neck, and he looked over to see Jason from the Friday the 13th movies standing there.

 

“You guys need another team member.  I’m your guy.”

 

Cas reached over to lift the man’s mask up.  It was his friend Kevin.

 

“Sounds good.  We need a couple more.  Teams of two, splitting up to get all the items, we’ll get done faster,”  Charlie said.

 

“Good idea,”  Kevin agreed.  He waved his hand to someone, calling them over.  Cas turned to see who he was recruiting.

 

“Hi!”  Anna Milton bounced up to them, her costume the mirror opposite of Meg’s.  Where Meg wore red lingerie, horns, and a forked tail, Anna was dressed in filmy, snow-white baby doll lingerie, white wings and a matching halo sitting atop her red hair.  Meg was eyeing her distastefully, and he knew those two would not work if paired up. 

 

“This hunt is a bloody mess; did you see this list?”  Crowley asked as he joined them.  Cas was amused by his choice of costume.  He was dressed as a priest.  It was about the most ironic costume the man could possibly have worn.  “These poems are stupid.  What the hell is the cradle of life?”

 

“In what context is it used?”  Charlie asked, peeking over his shoulder.  He pointed to item number 19.

 

_“To live, one must first see the world around them.  These can be found in the cradle of life, and will send you on a vision quest.”_   He read the lines, frowning. “They are ridiculous clues.”

 

Cas thought for a moment.  “Cradle of life.  It’s corny, and stupid, I’ll admit to that.  But vision?  You see visions with your eyes.  You have to _see_ the world around you.  So I’m guessing…eyes.  We have to find eyes.”

 

Meg took the list from Crowley, squinting as she read the instructions beneath the clue.  “Looks like all we have to do is take pictures of that one.  So, who wants to be in charge of hanging on to all the pictures?”

 

“I will,”  Cas volunteered.  Crowley snapped a picture of Cas’ startled blue eyes and forwarded it to him.

 

“There, one done.  Only 49 more to go.  Whoever gets the most wins a $500 gift card.  I don’t know how a bloody fraternity can afford to offer up such a prize, but that gift card means we could all eat comfortably for the rest of the semester.  I’d like to eat something besides stupid ramen noodles,”  Crowley said.  There were murmured agreements from all of them.

 

“Ok, well, groups are splitting up and heading out.  I think we should too.  Each group only gets one list, so everyone, take pictures of it so we all know what we’re looking for,”  Anna piped up.  They all pulled out their phones and snapped pictures.

 

“We need to split into groups of two each, and each pair takes eight items.  We’ve already figured out one clue, so that leaves one for whoever finishes first to try and solve,”  Cas told them.  “So let’s split up.”

 

“I’ll go with Cas,”  Anna announced.  Cas cringed and looked at Charlie in a panic for help.

 

“Uh, no angel face, he’s going with me,”  Charlie grabbed him by the arm.  “You can go with Meg, or Kevin.”  She ignored Anna’s crestfallen look, and Cas did as well, focusing instead on the list.

 

In the end, Cas and Charlie teamed up.  Crowley went with Meg and Kevin went with Anna.  Mostly Cas didn’t want to be with Anna because he knew the crush she had on him, and he didn’t want to encourage that in any way.  He and Charlie piled into his Toyota Prius and set out to find the first 10 items on their list.

 

“Are all the lists the same?”  she asked as she read over the items they needed to find.

 

“No.  There are, as far as I know, three different lists.  We got the one with the sucky poems, which means Gabe didn’t write out this list.  He did, however, supply all the items we don’t have to find on our own,” he replied.

 

“Oh!  I think I know what this one is!”  Charlie exclaimed.

 

“Read it out loud.” 

 

_“I shake, I rattle, I roll.  I hold you up and lay you down.  When you have faded away, I am all that remains.  I can be found in St. Boniface cemetery or Riverside cemetery.  I can also be found in the basement of the biology department.  Good luck getting in there though!”_

 

“That’s a skeleton,”  Cas realized.

 

“Yep, and that’s St. Boniface right there.”  Charlie pointed to the cemetery on their right.  Cas pulled into the first parking spot, frowning as he looked at the massive gates at the entrance.  They were closed and locked for the night.

 

“We can’t get in there.” 

 

“Oh, but we can.”  Charlie got out, hurrying to the gates.  Cas ran after her.

 

“You’re going to break in?”  He cried when he saw her scaling the cement wall next to the gates.

 

“So are you.  We have no idea what grave it’s at, and it’ll take two sets of eyes to find it.  So get your butt up here!”  She had left her armor and sword in the car, so climbing was easier for her.  Cas, however, was still in his full Potter costume, and the cape got in the way three times before he managed to get over the wall.

 

“Oh, how are we supposed to get out now?” he complained.  The drop was steeper on the inside, and there was no easy way to climb out from here.  A dog barking in the distance made him look up.  Across the street was a massive black Victorian mansion that was slowly being restored back to its splendor.  There was a light on in one of the upstairs windows.

 

“What are you looking at?” she asked.

 

“That house.  I thought it was empty.  There’s a light on now.”  He pointed and when she turned to see what house he was looking at, she visibly stiffened.

 

“You stay away from there.  That’s the witch’s house.”

 

“A what?  There’s no such thing as witches.”  He scoffed as he turned and started walking between rows of headstones, careful not to step on the graves themselves.

 

“There are!  I’m a witch.  Just…not _that_ kind.”  She shuddered as she moved two rows over to start checking.

 

“And what kind is that, exactly?”  He asked.

 

“The kind that would place a curse upon your father, and have that curse last for a thousand generations.  The kind to make your crops rot and your farm animals die.  He’s trouble, and everyone stays away from him.”

 

Cas looked back towards the house again.  He?  Witches could be men?  He didn’t know a whole lot about that kind of stuff, but how bad could the guy really be?  People couldn’t make someone else’s crops rot, unless they poisoned the soil.  Charlie was just spouting nonsense.

 

“Just…find the stupid skeleton, ok?” 

 

“I’m looking!” she hissed back.

 

Cas checked the list to make sure there wasn’t anything else they needed to find in the cemetery.  He came across a skull sitting atop a headstone and grabbed it.  It was farther down the list, in the part meant for Crowley and Meg, so he texted them to let them know he’d found it.  Charlie let out a whoop of triumph when she found the skeleton.

 

“Ok, so I asked you before, how are we supposed to get out of here?”  he asked once they met up again.

 

“This way.”  She led him to a concrete block that stood next to a mausoleum that backed up to the stone wall.  He watched her climb the block, and from there, get up onto the roof of the mausoleum.  Balancing herself carefully, she dropped down onto the sidewalk on the other side.  He tossed the skull and the skeleton, both of which were a lightweight plastic, over the wall to her before climbing up and out himself.

 

“Now what’s on the list?” she asked.

 

“Now, we have to find a brain jello mold, already made,” he replied.

 

“Gross.”  She wrinkled her nose.

 

“Be glad it’s not real brains.”  He laughed.

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“There are people sneaking out of the cemetery.  With a skeleton and a skull.  Plastic, judging by the way they’re tossing them around.”  Sam stood at the window closest to the door, watching the street and the people passing by.

 

“Are you really surprised?  It’s Halloween.  No one has any respect anymore.”  Dean pursed his lips and shook his head in disgust. “And they call _me_ a freak.”

 

“I can’t figure out what the girl is wearing.  Looks like a tank top and shiny metal pants.  I think she’s only wearing part of her costume.  The guy though, he’s dressed up in full Harry Potter gear.”

 

Dean chuckled.  “I’m sure there are a lot of Potters running around tonight.  There always are.”

 

“These aren’t kids though.  I think they’re from the college.”  Sam plucked a fake hair from his Chewbacca union suit out of his mouth and tossed it aside.  This was the closest he was getting to dressing up this year, and he’d already received enough teasing from his brother for dressing up at all.

 

“It’s a scavenger hunt.  They do one every year,”  Dean sighed.  He put down the carving knife and evaluated the job he’d just done on the latest pumpkin.  It looked sufficiently scary.  Tonight no less than 10 of his pumpkins would magically disappear.  They always got nabbed during the stupid hunt.  As long as enough remained to ward off spirits, he was fine with that. 

 

He carried the pumpkin to the front door, opening it and stepping out onto the massive wraparound front porch.  A girl screamed at the sight of him, dropping the pumpkin she’d just been stealing.  It didn’t break, though, and one of the two other people she was with hurried to grab it before they all took off running. Dean just sighed and set the new one down on the bottom step.  He fished a tea light candle from his pocket and set it down inside.  With a flick of his wrist, the candle burst to life.

 

Sam stood in the doorway watching.  He scratched at his jaw.  His allergies must have been acting up because he felt particularly itchy.  He’d have to ask his brother for a healing tea, something to help combat it.

 

“No trick or treaters yet?”  Dean asked as he climbed the steps.  Sam frowned and shook his head.

 

“No.  I have hope though.”

 

Dean snorted and went to clean up his pumpkin mess. 

 

“They’re too scared, kids and adults alike.  Some punks tried to burn my house down last year.  Some prank they took too far.  I knew they were going to do it though, and I was ready for them.  They haven’t tried since, but I’m also on high alert.  I also have excellent insurance, just in case.”

 

“Do you have any tea that would help with this itching?”  Sam asked as he followed him back to the kitchen.  Dean looked up at his brother, concern etched across his features.

 

“Your allergies acting up?”

 

“I don’t know.  I’m just…really itchy tonight.  It’s my face and hands mostly,”  Sam replied.  Dean reached out to grab his brother’s face gently, turning it every which way, looking for signs of a rash, but he didn’t see one.

 

“Did you shave today?  You’re pretty hairy.  Maybe that’s making you itch.  Of course I have tea, but you really should moisturize after you shave.”

 

“I shaved this morning.  I don’t need to do it again, do I?”  Sam ducked into the bathroom off the kitchen.  “Shit!  I’m never this hairy!  What the hell is going on?!”

 

Dean came to the doorway, looking at his brother’s reflection in the mirror.  He noticed hair on the backs of his brother’s hands and when Sam brushed his hair back, it was on his ears too.  Immediately he was on alert.

 

“I think this is a spell.”

 

Sam turned to face him, his expression a mixture of fear and horror.

 

“A spell?  Not one of yours?”

 

“Definitely not one of mine.”  Dean hurried to his study, snapping his fingers as he entered the room and bringing every candle in there roaring to life.  This was his sanctuary, and not even Sam entered his personal space without permission.  He flicked his wrist and the door shut behind him.  When he reached the table where he mixed his potions and performed his rituals, he placed his hands on top of it and closed his eyes.

 

_“Ancient ones, I call to thee.  Tell me what spell this is, and how I might be able to counteract it.”_

 

Silence.  Frowning, he opened his eyes and looked around.  Somewhere in the house, a creature roared.  Dean’s skin pricked and he grabbed for his ritual knife, tucking it in his belt.  Whatever was going on, it was not good.

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“So…we need to find these little bags.  Spell bags?”  Charlie asked, pointing at another item on the list.  “We need to find at least three, but the more we find, the more points we earn.”

 

“Technically, they’re called hex bags.  You use them to curse people, I think.”  Cas wondered where the frat brothers could have possibly put these little bags. 

 

“I bet there’s a bunch back at the frat house, but knowing these guys, there has to be some at local fast food places too.”

 

So far they’d found all but one thing on their list.  Short of knocking on doors to ask if anyone had a brain jello mold, they weren’t bringing back a brain.  Crowley was giving him regular updates too, and so far they had five of their eight items.  Since Cas had found one of theirs, that left them only one last thing to find: Vampire teeth.  Good luck with that one!  Kevin and Anna weren’t having as good of luck.  They’d found three items, and Anna had torn her nightie.  What a night this was.

 

Cas pulled into the McDonald’s closest to campus and they hurried inside.

 

“Check under the tables,” he said.  They ran around the lobby, excusing themselves as they felt under the tables for the little sack of fluff.  He let out a cry of triumph when he found one. 

 

“I got one!”  he cried.  It didn’t feel soft and full of the fluff he’d watched his brother filling them with two weeks before.  This felt like there were things actually inside.  Carefully he untied the twine holding the bag shut and opened it.

 

“Eww, what is _that_?”  Charlie grimaced at the items sitting in the center of the bag.

 

“I have no idea.  I watched Gabe fill the bags with that polyester fluff you buy at craft stores, so I haven’t a clue what this is.”  He poked at a few of the items.  “Is that…hair?”

 

“And that’s definitely a tooth.”  She pointed at another item.  “Tie it back up, it’s scaring me.”

 

He did as asked, and it was tossed in the trunk along with the rubber sword, skull, skeleton, French maid costume, rubber rat, plastic owl, red balloon, and Jason-esque hockey mask they’d already retrieved.

 

“A few more of those bags and-” 

 

A scream rose up in the night causing the words to die on Cas’ tongue.  He looked over at Charlie whose eyes were as large as his own.

 

“That didn’t sound fake,” she said.  From another direction someone else screamed.  Cas flinched.

 

“What the hell is happening?”

 

Another scream rose up in the night air followed by another and then another.  A lonely wolf howl rose up next, and they hurried to get in the car.

 

“What the hell is going on?” he cried.

 

“Cas, look!”  She pointed out his window at a miniature T-Rex that was chasing a woman down the street.  At first glance he thought it was just one of those blow up costumes he kept seeing silly videos of online, but then it flexed its claws and blinked.  The fucking thing _blinked_!

 

“Let’s get out of here!”  His hands were shaking badly, and he dropped the keys twice before he managed to shove the right one in the ignition.  When he sat back and looked over at Charlie, he did a double take. 

 

“Charlie?”

 

“I do not know this Charlie person you speak of.  My name is Brienne of Tarth.  Where are we?  Where is Lady Stark?  I must find her.  My duty is to protect her.  Free me from this metal box!”  

 

Cas gaped at his friend, unsure if she was being serious or just playing around, except suddenly the horribly fake wig she’d been wearing all night didn’t look so fake.  There was fury in her eyes, and he didn’t know what to do except lean past her and open the door.  If she was being serious, she’ll just laugh and tell him she got one over on him, but if she was serious…

 

With one last furious glare in his direction, she climbed out of the car.  It dawned on him that her plastic armor now clanked like it was real metal.  His jaw was still dropped as he watched her jog down the street, her sword at the ready.

 

“What the hell is going on?”  he asked, though there wasn’t anyone to hear him.  More people were screaming, and it was getting closer.  He pulled out his phone and shot off a text to Crowley.

 

**Cas:**   Do you see weird things happening where you’re at?  Charlie just declared that she’s really Brienne of Tarth, and she ran from the car.  I’m pretty sure her armor and sword are real.  And the wig.  I’m freaking out!

 

Crowley didn’t respond right away, but Cas was afraid to drive.  He didn’t know where to go.  When his phone finally rang he cried out, so on edge from watching what looked like real zombies staggering down the street.

 

**Crowley:**   I regret to inform you that Meg has turned into a demon and blinked out of the car about 10 minutes ago.  And I must return to the church and light a candle.  This is the night of demons, and I must pray for the lost souls.  Be safe, dear Castiel, and may God be with you.

 

Cas stared at his phone for a long time wondering just what the fuck was going on. 

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Dean stared at his brother for a good, long minute before he burst out laughing.  He managed to sober up and study the effect the curse was having.

 

“What the fuck?”  He doubled over laughing all over again.  Sam whined and threw his hands, er _paws_ up in the air in frustration.  That just got Dean laughing even harder.

 

“Sammy, what on earth did you get yourself into?”

 

_“Grrrr!”_

 

“What do you mean nothing?  You had to get yourself into something.  Was that costume of yours cursed?”

 

_“Grrr-rrr!”_

“Well, something’s got a nasty spell on it.”  Dean sobered up and decided checking to see if there was a specific spell on his brother was in order.  He reached out from his core, searching for whatever spell had turned his brother into a literal Wookie.  Not that that wasn’t downright hilarious, because it was, but Sam couldn’t stay that way.  Whatever this was, Sam wasn’t specifically cursed.

 

“When you said you wanted to get into Star Wars more, this wasn’t what I thought you meant,” he teased.  Somehow, even in Wookie form, Sam managed to give him a bitch face.  Dean hadn’t laughed this hard in years.

 

“You always did like your hair long.  Bet you’re agreeing with me now that clippers aren’t so bad, eh?”

 

Unable to flip Dean off, Sam used his whole arm, then stomped off towards the kitchen, ignoring the hysterical laughter that followed.  Slowly Dean managed to sober his laughter, and he was just wiping at his eyes when Sam came back, still giving him a bitch face.

 

Outside, someone screamed.

 

_“Grrrr!”_

 

“I know it sounded real.”  Dean went to the window and pulled back the edge of the curtain just enough to peek out.  “And how the hell can I understand you?  Does that make me Han Solo?  I’m not dressed up as Han.”  He looked down at his usual tee shirt and jeans.  It didn’t look anything like Harrison Ford’s getup in the movies.  A snap of his fingers lit the candles in the room.  Han couldn’t do _that_!

 

Sam whined and tugged at the ammunition belt slung across his chest. 

 

_“Grrr-rrrrr!_ ”

 

“Good point.  I can communicate with almost any animal, so it makes sense that I’d be able to talk to you like this too.”  Dean scanned the street, his eyebrow rising in shock when he saw what looked like a werewolf race down the street, chasing a girl dressed as red riding hood.

 

“What the hell…”

 

_“Grrr?”_

 

“This spell, it’s wide spread, and getting bigger.”  He dropped the curtain and turned back to look at his brother.  “This is old magic. Curses like this?  Not many people know how to do this kind of magic anymore.”

 

The sound of someone pounding on the door made them both jump and Dean spun around to face the door.

 

“Help!  Please!” 

 

The voice was rough, pleading, and clearly terrified.  Dean went to the door and opened it a few inches, peering out at the man on the other side.

 

“What do you want?”

 

“Help!  That’s why I knocked!  There’s a _werewolf out here!_   And zombies!”

 

Dean opened the door enough to let him in, quickly closing it and locking it once he was inside.  The man let out a startled shout when he spotted Sam.

 

“The curse isn’t going on just out there,”  Dean said.  “The hairball’s my brother, Sam.  I’m Dean.”

 

The man turned to look at him, his blue eyes wide still with fear.  Dean snorted when he realized what costume the guy was dressed in.  Harry Freaking Potter.

 

“I-I’m…Cas.  There was a skeleton in my trunk, but it tore its way out with a sword.  Also, your pumpkins are moving.  All of them are in motion, sort of like in a cartoon.  It’s a bit unnerving, but by far the least frightening thing I’ve seen tonight.”

 

“Are you really Harry Potter?”  Dean asked.  Cas frowned in annoyance.

 

“Yes, no, I don’t know.  I don’t have a wand.  I might actually be able to do magic to stop whatever this is if I had one.”

 

“No, you wouldn’t.  This is ancient magic, very powerful and it’s spreading, as I’m sure you’ve noticed.  Whatever magic you have, it’s not real.”  Dean went back to the window at the sound of more screams and peered out. He couldn’t even identify what _that_ creature was.

 

“Pardon me if I don’t exactly believe in magic.”  Cas pushed up the glasses on his nose and grimaced.  Since this had started, he couldn’t even see without them.  And he was resisting the urge to look for friends he knew couldn’t possible exist.  The worst part?  Suddenly he felt attracted to _women_.  But it all felt like an illusion.  Underneath it all, he was still Cas, and it felt like he could fight through it, so he did.  That was how he’d managed to give his real name and not respond with Harry.

 

_“Grrr-rrr-rrr!”_   Sam threw his hands up in the air in frustration before sitting down heavily on a velvet settee in the center of the room.

 

“Yeah, they’re always skeptical til they’re faced with real magic,”  Dean agreed.  He dropped the curtain and turned to look at Cas, his green eyes narrowing dangerously.  “I’m betting this has something to do with your scavenger hunt tonight.  Let me see your list.”

 

“I-I don’t have it.  Just a couple pictures on my phone,”  Cas replied.

 

“Then let me see those.” 

 

Cas fished his phone out and pulled the pictures up.  Dean spent a long time reading through them, the irritation he felt quite obvious on his face.

 

“Who wrote these ridiculous rhymes?  Some of these, I can’t even determine what the items are.”

 

“My brother and his frat brothers wrote them,”  Cas replied.

 

“You’re not in the fraternity?”  Dean asked, looking up at him.

 

“God no.  That’s not my thing.  I just like going to the parties once in awhile.  They can be fun.  Except this one.  This is a nightmare.”  Cas sat in one of the fancy armchairs and Dean sat in the other one. Sam was sitting quietly watching them.

 

“Ok, wait, this, what is this supposed to be?”  Dean pointed to item number 37 on the list.  Cas leaned over to look at it.

 

“I think that’s the necklace with this big, gaudy amulet hanging on it that he picked up at a thrift store.  It has this big obnoxious stone, and I think the metal might be silver, but it’s really tarnished.  It’s gaudy and awful.”

 

Dean took a deep breath and closed his eyes.  He exhaled slowly. “It’s cursed.  That piece, I know it.  You’ve seen it?  In person?”

 

“Yeah, I hung around before the parties to help him out with some stuff, and he showed me a few of the things he had gotten. That was one of them.”

 

Dean motioned for Cas to follow him.

 

“Try taking off the cape and glasses.  And the scarf. See if that brings you back to yourself.” 

 

Cas unwound the scarf and slipped the cape off as they walked.  Lastly, he removed the glasses.  For a moment his vision remained blurry, but then everything came back into focus.  The fog in his brain telling him he was a straight wizard from Hogwarts disappeared too.  He was once more a gay law student from Montmouth.

 

“I’m me again!”

 

Dean smirked as he led Cas into his study. “My guess is it couldn’t fully grab hold of another witch.  Or those not dressed up.”

 

“So you’re telling me you’re a real witch.”  Completely missing the comment Dean had just made, Cas focused instead on the fact that Dean was claiming himself to be a witch, and he made no effort to hide his skepticism. 

 

“I am, but I don’t have to prove it to you or anyone else.  I don’t hurt people, and I sure as hell don’t cast curses.”  Dean had pulled a massive book off one of the shelves and dropped it with a heavy thud on his table.  He talked as he flipped through the pages. 

 

“Witches have always been here.  Magic has always existed.  Some people just have a natural ability to harness it, and others don’t.  I come from a very long line of them, on both my mother and my father’s side.”  He motioned for Cas to come over and look at a picture.  “Is this the necklace?”

 

Cas crossed the room, coming to stand beside him.  The man smelled incredible, like spices and something sweet.  He tried to ignore it and looked down at the picture.  Well, it was a picture of a painting, but there was a woman sitting very primly, a ghost of a smile on her lips.  Her hair was bright red but her eyes held a darkness that gave him chills.  She wore a blue dress that had a low neckline, and a necklace hung around her neck.  It was exactly the same as the one his brother had picked up at Salvation Army a few weeks prior.

 

“That’s it.”

 

“Fuck.”  Dean let out a rush of air and ran his fingers through his hair.  “This is Abaddon Murphy.  She was a witch in the late 1800s, and she was not pleasant. That’s a bloodstone, a gift brought back for her by her fiancé who was in some sort of business that had him traveling the world. It was polished and placed into an amulet, then hung on the necklace for her.  He spoiled her, bringing her back all sorts of trinkets and treasures from his travels, until he grew bored with her and found someone else that he wanted to marry.”

 

“Wait, are you telling me there was a curse placed on an amulet because of a spurned lover?  Can’t people get over that?  I did,”  Cas said, frowning at the picture.  Dean chuckled.

 

“Yeah, for the most part, most people do. Abby did not.  There is no evil in the biblical sense.  Everything is imbued with energy from people to fish to rocks.  Some people are able to harness that energy.  Some of it is light, or positive energy, some of it dark, or negative energy.  Most witches try their hardest to harness the light because harnessing the dark brings it back around on you.  You’ve probably heard of the ‘Power of Three.’  Anything you do, comes back on you threefold.  Some people call it karma.  It’s more intense for a witch though.  More like tenfold, and you don’t want dark magic coming back on you tenfold.  Abby didn’t care though.  She killed her former lover and his new wife by sinking their boat as they were returning from England, where he’d met the woman on business.  Less than a week later, Abby was pulled from her home and burned at the stake.  Stories vary as to who killed her, but most people think it was her ex’s family that was behind it.”

 

“I thought witch hunts ended in the 1600s?”  Cas asked, horrified.

 

“Most of them did.  They still go on around the world, they’re just…called other things.  Her death was covered up and listed as a robbery that turned into a vicious murder.  Her possessions were ‘stolen,’ and she was burned to death.  The following day, her coven went back and tried to recover her spells, charms, and other items, including this necklace, but they were gone.  Bits and pieces have been turning up over the years, but this one has never been located.  It was feared she had given it to someone who deals in the darker aspects of magic.”  Dean sighed and looked at him.  “You say your brother found this in a thrift store?”

 

Cas nodded.  “Yes, he was going around to all of the ones in the area, looking for things he could use on the hunt.  He was excited about this piece.”

 

“Well, any idea where it is now?”

 

Cas shrugged.  “If it was found already, anyone from the hunt could have it.  There are roughly a 100 people participating this year.  It’s a huge tradition.”

 

“Except this happened,”  Dean said.  “Look, I’ll lay it out for you real simple.  Abby’s blood is on that necklace.  She was wearing it when they grabbed her, and she was tortured before she was tied to a stake and burned.  If someone puts that necklace on, they become a conduit for her energy, or spirit.  She will possess them.  If they didn’t put it on but they exert the right kind of energy to wake her up, then this kind of shit happens.  So someone on your hunt must have found the amulet.”

 

Cas gaped at him for a long moment.  “That…that can happen?”

 

“Yes, it happens, but not so much anymore.  Like I said, this is old magic.  Abby was wrongfully murdered, as far as she was concerned.  She’s angry, vengeful, and looking to come back.  I’m the only person in this area that has the power to stop her, but I’m going to need some help.  The rest of my coven is spread out.  Except for Sam, and he’s not exactly able to help me right now, so that leaves you.”

 

“Me?  But I can’t help!  I’m not a-a… _witch_!”  Cas cried.

 

“On the contrary, I can sense it in you.  It’s why you became Harry Potter, which by the way, the irony of that was hilarious, but you still had the foresight to give me your real name.  And you came here.  You don’t know me, we’ve never met before, but you came _here_.  You could have gone back to the frat house, or to your dorm, or wherever you live, but you didn’t.  I know you must have heard the rumors.”

 

Cas picked at a piece of lint on his shirt. He wasn’t sure what had drawn him here instead of making him go back to his brother. The thought that maybe, if by some miracle Dean really _was_ a witch, he could help had passed through his head, but really, this had felt like the only place he _could_ go.

 

“I only heard tonight that, um, a witch lived here.  I’ve driven past this place dozens of times though.”

 

“And what did you hear, exactly?”  Dean crossed his arms and leaned back against the desk, looking at him with one eyebrow raised.  Cas’ cheeks flushed in embarrassment.  He didn’t believe what Charlie had said earlier.

 

My friend, she, um, she said…”  He fidgeted slightly.  Dean arched the other eyebrow and waited.

 

“She said you were the kind of witch that would place a curse upon a person’s father, and have that curse last for a thousand generations.  That you could make crops rot and farm animals die.  She said you’re trouble, and that I should stay away from you.”

 

Dean seemed more annoyed than hurt by that.

 

“What the fuck does she think I am?  A monster?  Where do people even get these ideas?”

 

“I believe you, that you don’t curse people.”  Cas wasn’t sure why, but he did.

 

“Glad someone does.”  Dean pushed off the desk.  “Do you believe that you’re a witch too?  We can recognize the higher energy of one another.”

 

Cas frowned.  “I don’t know about that.  I can’t do anything.”

 

Dean took a few steps closer, smirking when the other man inhaled sharply. 

 

“You’re going to have to harness energy right from your core.”  He tapped Cas in the center of his chest.  “You’re all I’ve got. I need your help.”

 

“Yeah, ok, I’ll do whatever I can to help stop this.”  Cas nodded quickly.

 

“That means going back out there.  We have to find the amulet.  That’s what’s holding her energy, not the entire necklace.”

 

Cas groaned.  It was hell on Earth out there!

 

“And we’re taking the Wookie,”  Dean added.

 

Great.

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Dean was careful to place a protective spell on the jacket he gave Cas to wear, and he went one further, placing a necklace with different protective stones around the man’s neck.  The last thing he needed was the guy turning into another imaginary character.

 

“What does this do?”  Cas asked, lifting up the necklace so he could see it a bit better.

 

“It will block negative energies and protect you. Every tattoo on my body and every piece of jewelry I wear is all intended for protection or enhancement of my powers.  Don’t worry, we’ll get pieces that speak to you, and get you fully protected.”  Dean winked, grinning at how easily he could make the young man blush.  “How old are you anyway?”

 

“I just turned 21.”

 

“Young one.”  Dean winked again and went to open the front door.

 

“Are you…flirting?”  Cas asked, more than a little surprised.

 

_“Grrr!  Grrr-rrrr-rrrr-rrrr-grrr!”_

Dean laughed but didn’t respond, and he didn’t translate, so Cas turned to the Wookie.

 

“He’s flirting, right?”

 

Sam nodded, and then smacked Dean in the back of the head with one of his massive paws.

 

“Hey!”  Dean cried, smoothing his hair back into place.

 

_“Grrr!_ ”

 

“Yeah, I get it, ok.  Now fuck off, Sammy!”

 

“Get what?”  Cas asked.

 

“Don’t worry about it.”  Dean opened the door and grabbed the bag he’d packed.  To Cas’ surprise he made his own hex bags, except these ones worked.  He led them down the stairs, Cas directly behind him and Sam pulling up the rear. 

 

“Where’s your car?”  Dean asked.

 

“Around the corner, and like four blocks down.  I barely got out of the McDonald’s parking lot before Cujo attacked my car.  Then the skeleton broke out of the back and well, I ran.”

 

_“Grr?”_

 

“Yes, Cujo.”  Cas nodded.  Sam shook his head in disbelief.

 

“Damn.  Watch for rabid dogs.  Shoot them, Sammy,”  Dean warned.

 

They walked carefully, ears peeled for anything that sounded out of the ordinary, and trying not to jump at every scream, howl, or shout they heard.  Dean spotted another werewolf on the way and threw a hex bag at it, knocking it out.  When they reached the street outside the McDonald’s they could see Cas’ car, still on, though the back door stood open and one of the windows was shattered.

 

“I think your skeleton has run off to fight a war,”  Dean mused.  Cas shot him a baleful look before checking the backseat. Seeing the car was clear, he got in behind the wheel. Dean jumped into the passenger seat while Sam climbed into the back. 

 

“Sorry, my car wasn’t equipped to fit 7-foot Wookies,”  Cas apologized when Sam had to sit in the middle just to make room for his long legs.  Sam just shrugged.

 

“He wasn’t 7 feet before this,”  Dean said.  “And he was slightly less hairy.”

 

Sam growled from the backseat and crossed his arms in a huff.  Dean just grinned wickedly.

 

“Where am I going?”  Cas asked.

 

“To the frat house.  We need to know if that amulet was found.” 

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Driving through a city in utter chaos was the most stressful thing Cas had ever done.  He would have preferred driving through downtown Chicago, or New York City, over this mess.  His heart was in his throat as he dodged Silent Hill nurses, Cthulhu, zombies, werewolves, a lion, two giant spiders, and no less than six Elvis’s, but there were also crowds of screaming, terrified people running for their lives.

 

“Can this be reversed?”  His hands ached from his tight his grip on the wheel was, but he wasn’t easing his hold.  He was terrified.

 

“Yes, but we have to get the amulet first.”

 

The frat house was worse than the entire city combined.  People were running screaming from the building, but so were all manner of nightmarish creatures.  They had just gotten out of the car when a centaur came running down the front stairs.

 

_“Holy fuck!”_   Cas screamed when Medusa slithered out next.  Dean threw a well-placed hex bag, smacking the creature in the chest and knocking her out.

 

_“Grrr!  Grrr-rrrr-rrrr!”_ Sam growled excitedly. 

 

“What?”  Dean asked, looking at him.  Sam pointed up towards the doors where a very short Han Solo currently stood, lightsaber in hand.  He was fighting an even tinier Darth Vader.

 

“You gotta be shitting me.” 

 

“Gabe?”  Cas gaped at his brother for a moment.  Gabe was never that coordinated in real life.  His brother didn’t respond.  “Gabe!”  He screamed.  His brother still didn’t answer.

 

“Hey!  Solo!”  Dean yelled.  Gabe glanced in their direction for only a second before swinging his lightsaber and taking Vader’s arm off.

 

“Oh my God!”  Cas covered his mouth in horror.  How were they going to reverse _that_?!

 

Dean grabbed him by the arm and they hurried up the stairs.  Sam raced ahead of them, right to Gabe’s side.

 

_“Grrrrrrr!”_

 

“Hey, furball, I’ve been wondering where the hell you were.”  Gabe patted Sam’s arm before looking past him at Cas and Dean.  “What did you do, pick up strays?”

 

“Sam!  Snap out of it!  You’re not really Chewbacca!”  Dean snapped.  Sam startled and shook his head.

 

_“Grrrr.”_

 

“Apology accepted.”  Dean looked at Gabe.  “What’s your name?”

 

“Han Solo.  What’s yours?”

 

Dean looked at Cas, one eyebrow cocked.  “Isn’t this your brother?”

 

“Half-brother.  We have different mothers.”

 

“So you’re a witch, but on your mother’s side.”

 

Cas shrugged.  “I’m still not convinced that I even am one.”

 

Dean grabbed his wrist and turned his hand palm up.  With his free hand, he forced Cas to make a fist.

 

“Picture light.  Imagine that you’re holding it in the palm of your hand.”

 

Cas felt something that felt like energy building in his hand, but it could also be the fact that Dean was touching him, and the man was incredibly good looking.  Then something sparked.

 

“What was that?”

 

“Hold on, don’t open your hand yet.  You’re harnessing energy.  Now, I want you to picture what it is that you want in your hand.”  Dean told him.  Cas closed his eyes and pictured exactly what he wanted.  When he opened his hand there was a gun there.

 

“Did I do that?”  Cas looked up at him, his blue eyes wide with shock.

 

“Yes, though I pushed through some energy too, to help you.  Good idea.  Hope you remembered the bullets,”  Dean joked.  Cas’ face fell as he hurried to check the chamber.

 

“Damn it!”

 

“Try again.  Harness energy.  Have intent.  You’re a born witch.  Use your abilities.”  Dean took the gun and this time kept watch as Cas tried again on his own.  The light flashed again and when he opened his hand, there was a bullet sitting on his palm.

 

“Great. Only have to do that like, a hundred more times,” he muttered.

 

“Hey, at least you managed to make one.  That’s more than Sam could do his first time.” 

 

_“Grrrr!”_   Sam whined.  Dean chuckled and patted him on the shoulder.

 

“It’s ok, Sammy, you were also five when you first tried.”

 

Cas was momentarily fascinated watching Dean come up with the bullets needed for the gun, and once it was loaded, he handed it back.

 

“You know how to shoot?”

 

“I do,”  Cas replied.

 

“This is real, so unless you absolutely have to, try not to shoot at people.  Even the people that aren’t really people right now,”  Dean reminded him.  Cas nodded in understanding.

 

“Who are you people?  What planet is this?  What system are we in?”  Gabe asked.

 

“We’re…friends of Leia,”  Dean replied, glancing over at Cas who quickly nodded.  “And we’re in the Milky Way, on planet Earth.”

 

“Never heard of it.  How did I even get here?  Where’s Leia?”

 

“Sorry, she’s on…Alderan.”  Dean squinted.  He hoped he got that planet right.  “But you and Chewy have a job here.  Our planet is in danger.  We’re looking for an amulet.  The dark side wants it.  There’s a guy here, by the name of Gabe, and he…”

 

“The amulet was stolen, and now it’s lost here in the city.”  Cas cut in when Dean was at a loss for an explanation.  The man looked incredibly grateful though.

 

“Yes, what he said.”

 

“Well, what’s it look like?”  Gabe asked.

 

“Like this.”  Dean was glad he’d had the foresight to snap a picture of the picture from his book.  He held his phone out for Gabe to take a look.

 

“I…think I’ve see that,”  Gabe ventured.

 

“Where?  Where did you see it?”  Cas asked.

 

“I don’t remember.  Inside, I think?”

 

Dean motioned to Sam to go inside and start looking.

 

“Come on, we have to find it now.”

 

Cas nodded and followed Dean up and into the house.

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Watch out for the bats!  They have rabies!”  A fairy with blue wings cried just as one dive bombed at Dean’s head.  He snapped a hand out and the tiny black ball of rage burst into flames.  Roaches and spiders were crawling everywhere, not like the giant spiders they’d seen outside earlier.  Those were likely blow up decorations come to life.  Regardless, he didn’t want to be on the receiving end of the bite of one of those things! 

 

On the table was a bowl of eyeballs, and Cas slapped his empty hand over his mouth in an attempt not to hurl.  Dean was searching a couple of baskets of items that had been turned in, but it looked like most of the items had taken on a life of their own and walked away.  They were pretty empty, and it was clear the amulet was nowhere to be seen.

 

“Damn it!”  Dean shouted in frustration.  “It’s growing, can you feel that?  It will continue to get bigger, until it consumes everything.  I won’t be able to fight it by that point.”

 

“I feel something, I think.  I don’t know, it’s like this buzzing in my head, but it’s getting louder.  Is that it?”  Cas asked. 

 

“Yeah, that’s it.  We need to find that amulet.  I’m going to cast a spell to locate it.  I could use the extra power.”  Dean held a hand out to him.  He eyed it for a moment before taking it.

 

“What do you need me to do?”  Cas asked.

 

“Focus on the amulet.  I’ll do the rest.”

 

Cas closed his eyes and pictured the amulet.  He’d never really thought much about energy, aside from maybe what he’d learned in physics class, but the little bit he’d been learning tonight, he felt like a switch had suddenly been flipped.  It flowed through him, and he could feel it. Plus it wasn’t so bad holding hands with someone as beautiful as Dean.

 

“Got it.  It’s with a demon, not demon.  A human that dressed up as a demon tonight.  Her name is Margaret, but she goes by something shorter.”

 

“Meg.  She’s one of my best friends.  She was on my team tonight, but we split up into pairs so we could cover more ground.  There was supposed to be a $5oo gift card, and we want to be able to eat for the rest of the semester.  Crowley said she blinked out of the car earlier.  She just disappeared,”  Cas said.

 

“Fine, then we’re just going to have to summon her.”

 

Dean was still holding his hand as he stomped across the roaches that skittered along the floor and didn’t let go until they’d reached the center of the room.

 

“What’s he doing?”  Gabe asked, directing the question to Sam.

 

_“Grrr-rrrr!”_

 

“What’s a demon?” Gabe asked him.  Sam just groaned in frustration.

 

Dean was quick in setting up his candles and with a flick of his wrist, they were lit.

 

“Oh!  You’re that witch!  The one in the scary house!”  the fairy cried. 

 

“The house is not scary.”  Cas felt defensive.  He’d been inside Dean’s home and it was very nice.  So what if it was black outside?  There was nothing wrong with black.  It made the flowers outside pop with color.  He caught the soft smile on Dean’s face, and he smiled back.  Seriously, he might have known the man for only about an hour, but he wasn’t scary and he’d always had good instincts about people.  Dean was not evil like Charlie had said.

 

Dean moved to the center of the candles and bowed his head.  As soon as he did, the flames on the candles flared bright.

 

“Meg, I would very much like to speak with you.  Could you please show yourself?  I understand you’re friends with Cas here.  He would like to talk to his friend.”

 

“That’s how you’re going to summon her?” Cas asked.

 

“What, you want me to put down a demon trap?  She’s not a real demon.  I don’t want to hurt her,”  Dean replied.  Cas looked around but so far, Meg had not shown up.

 

“Meg?  Please?”  he called out.

 

“Oh, for you, Clarence, I suppose.” 

 

He spun around to see his friend standing there.  The horns and tail were gone, but there was something infinitely sexier about her now.  Something more…seductive.  She strutted right up to Cas, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. 

 

“What did you need from me, baby boy?”

 

He cringed at the nickname.  “You have an amulet.  I would like to get it.  It’s…for…”

 

“Your new boyfriend?” she asked, turning jet black eyes on Dean.

 

“Yes, that’s it.  He loves that stuff, and he’ll look hot in it.”  Cas was bullshitting but thankfully Dean wasn’t calling him out on it.

 

“He’s a hottie.  Much better than your last one.” She tapped the tip of one blood red fingernail against her lips.  “I might know where it is.”

 

“Oh?  That’s wonderful!”

 

“Not so fast.”  She cut him off.  He cringed.  Of course there was a catch.

 

“What?”

 

“I’ll give you the amulet, but you need to tell Anna you’re not interested in her.  The puppy dog eyes are getting ridiculous.  She only dressed up in lingerie like me because she thought she was competing with me for your affections.  Angels are _not_ better than demons!”  There was fire in her eyes, and Cas looked helplessly at Dean.  The witch came out of his candle circle to stand beside him.

 

“So, how do we call this Anna?”  Dean asked as he slipped an arm protectively around Cas’ shoulders.

 

“That’s easy, we pray,”  Cas said.  He closed his eyes and did exactly that.

 

_“Anna, if you can hear me, please come to the frat house immediately.”_

 

There was the sound of wings fluttering and when he opened his eyes, Anna was there, standing a few feet away.  She glared angrily at Meg.  In her hand was some sort of short, silver blade that she looked ready to stab the demon with.

 

“Anna, what’s that?”  Cas asked her.  She pulled her gaze away from Meg, her expression immediately softening when she saw him.

 

“An angel blade.”

 

“Don’t kill Meg; she has something I need,”  Cas pleaded.  Anna frowned as she glided over to him.  So far, she hadn’t even acknowledged Dean.

 

“Are you alright?  There is so much evil in this world, I couldn’t stand it if you got hurt.  Your soul is so pure.”  She placed a hand over his heart, but that made him deeply uncomfortable and he squirmed out from under her touch.

 

“Anna, none of this is real.  It’s all from a curse placed over 200 years ago.  We need to stop it now.  It’s not evil, and it can all be fixed.”  He tried to explain.  She reached out to brush a lock of hair from his forehead.

 

“Castiel, my angel here on Earth.  I will protect you.”

 

Cas groaned and rolled his eyes.  Meg was watching him expectantly.

 

“Anna, I’m…I’m not interested.  I’m sorry if you ever got the idea that I was.  I’m gay.  I’m not even attracted to Meg, in case you thought she was like, competition or something.”

 

“Ouch, Clarence, I’m hurt.”  Meg placed a hand dramatically over her heart before grinning and winking at him.  “And this is his sexy new beau.  He digs the D, not the V, Annie.”

 

Cas winced when a harsh wind whipped through the room, shoving him back against Dean.  The shadow of wings filled the entire room and the tiny blue fairy squeaked in terror before flittering away as quickly as she could.  Dean’s arms came around Cas’ waist, holding him up while Meg simply held her ground.

 

“How dare you mock my feelings?!  You evil, vile, filthy creature!”  Anna roared.

 

“Oh, wow, so insulted,”  Meg said dryly.

 

“Meg!”  Cas hissed.  “Don’t egg her on!”

 

“The amulet!  We can stop her wrath with it!”  Dean pleaded.  Meg rolled her eyes before disappearing.

 

“Where did the beast go?”  Anna demanded.

 

“Meg is not a beast.  Knock it off,”  Cas snapped irritably.  The wind died down, and he was able to stand again.  He pushed gently off Dean’s chest and walked over to his friend.  “Anna-”

 

“My name is Anael, angel of the Lord.”  Anna stood up tall, puffing her chest out.  He noticed her sexy lingerie from earlier had become more of a gown, coming all the way down to her feet.  There was an almost ethereal glow to her too.  She was a beautiful woman to start with, but now?  She was absolutely gorgeous.

 

“Oh, Anael…”  He licked his lips before continuing.  “You’re my friend, and I care very much about you, just as I care about Meg, but I have no romantic feelings towards either of you.  I don’t have romantic or sexual feelings towards women.  I don’t want to lose you as a friend because of that.”

 

Her eyes shimmered, and he knew she was trying not to cry.  Angels didn’t cry.  She looked over at Dean, who was quietly watching them.

 

“It’s him you are interested in?”

 

Cas blushed hard.  Nothing like being called out on your crush _in front of_ your crush.  “Uh, y-yeah.  That’s Dean.  He’s really nice.”

 

“And very handsome.  I can see why you would be attracted.”  Her eyes fell to the tops of her shoes.  “I care very much about you, Castiel, but I wish for you to be happy.  If he makes you happy, then that makes me happy as well.”

 

“As long as he’s not dating me, right?”  Meg was back, the amulet in hand.  She slapped it into Dean’s waiting palm when he held it out to her.

 

“I hope you rot in the deepest pits of hell,”  Anna sneered.  Meg just snorted and rolled her eyes.

 

“Not very angelic of you to say, now is it?”

 

“Cas, I need you.”  Dean held out his hand and Cas hurried back to him.  They went to the center of the candles again, kneeling down.

 

“What are we doing?”  Cas asked him.

 

“We’re burning the last of her remains.”  Dean replied.

 

“The blood?” 

 

Dean nodded as he pulled a bottle of lighter fluid and a small bowl out of his bag.  Cas produced a lighter, handing it over, and he watched as Dean tossed the necklace into the bowl and covered it in the lighter fluid.

 

“Abbadon, release your spirit, and release this curse.  Free these innocent people and move on.  Your revenge is not to be had here.  Release!”  Dean lit the contents of the bowl, and it immediately went up in flames.

 

Cas looked around the room.  The very first thing he noticed was that all of the roaches and spiders scrambling across the floor had stopped moving.  The second thing he noticed was Anna was back in her skimpy lingerie.  He looked past them at his brother and found Gabe looking very confused.  Next to him was a tall man in a Wookie union suit who was sliding the hood down from his head.

 

“I think it worked.”  Cas felt an incredible sense of relief.

 

“Of course it did.  Your intent and my intent combined with putting the last of her remains to rest, it undid the curse.  I just really hope no one was flying in the air when the curse broke,”  Dean said, half joking.  They watched the fire until it completely burned down, then cleaned up their mess.

 

“Was I…did I…”  Anna looked so confused it broke Cas’ heart.

 

“They’re all going to remember?”  Cas turned to Dean who nodded.

 

“Yeah, but give them time, they’ll learn to block it from their memory, or change the memories altogether. It’s what people do.”

 

“I won’t.  I made one bad-ass demon.”  Meg threw her head back and laughed wickedly.

 

“It’s really not all that far off from her true personality,”  Cas said with a chuckle.  Dean grinned.  Sam walked over, offering his hand.

 

“It’s nice to actually meet you now.  I’m Sam.”

 

“Nice to meet you as well.”  Cas shook his hand.  “Hey, how come you couldn’t just shed the curse like I did?”

 

“Because I am in this.  It sealed up.  No zippers to undo and climb out of.  It wasn’t as easy for me.  I had to wait and hope my brother could break it.”

 

“But you were completely conscious of who you were?”  Cas asked.

 

“Yes, until I saw Han. Then something in my brain sort of short circuited.  Chewy really is obsessed with Han Solo.”  Sam laughed.

 

“Hey, I’m adorable.”  Gabe gave a cheesy smile that got them all laughing even more.  “What, uh, exactly happened?”

 

“You bought a cursed amulet from the freaking Salvation Army, of all places, Gabe.  You woke up an angry, vengeful witch who unleashed her rage on us for how she was wronged 200 years ago.  Do me a favor?  If you do this scavenger hunt again, stick to plastic props? Stay out of thrift stores.”  Cas patted his brother’s shoulder as he started for the door.  People were filtering back in, most looking incredibly dazed and confused.  Dean caught up with him.

 

“Sam wants to stay and enjoy the party for a bit.  Do you, uh, want to come back to my house with me?  I can show you a few spells.”

 

Cas smiled.  “So this curse is over; I still have powers?”

 

“Of course you do.  The curse didn’t give them to you.  You were born with them,” Dean replied.

 

“I’d like that.  This night has been exhausting.”  Cas opened the driver’s side door and leaned in, marveling over how the damage from the skeleton was gone.  Dean slid into the passenger seat.

 

“Told you, it was all temporary,” he said.  Cas slid into the driver’s seat and started the car.

 

“I’m glad, but honestly?  I don’t think I’m ever dressing up for Halloween again.”

 

Dean laughed most of the way back to his house.

**Author's Note:**

> I do hope you all enjoyed this one. Happy Halloween! Next up is my 30 Days of Writing Challenge. For those of you who have followed me for the last few years you know that I do this each November. It's one story a day for the full month of November. The plan this year though is something similar to the October challenge I did, where I go with single word prompts, and I will "attempt" to keep the stories short due to time constraints. 10k a day is not easy. So get ready, there's more coming. 
> 
> Kudos and comments are always welcome. Thank you for reading!


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